Injuries (Allen, Mathews, Matthews, Orlosky) and illness (Curry) accounted for some of the reasons. The rest were out for a variety of personal situations, many that shouldn't keep them away too much longer, if at all.

But in the meantime, with few exceptions, their absences mean more work for the players who really need it at this time of year. Of all the non-injured players missing, McCalister is the only one who you can say really needs as much work as he can get after being forced to sit out all of last year with an injury.

For example, with Peters still missing at left tackle, the Eagles responded by moving Lane Johnson over from the right side and plugging second-year man Halapoulivaati Vaitai in on the right.

With Jernigan and Allen out, youngsters like Destiny Vaeao, Elijah Qualls, Winston Craig and Justin Hamilton saw considerably more action than they otherwise would have. That could be especially beneficial for Vaeao, who became part of the defensive rotation as an undrafted rookie last year.

Similarly, with three defensive ends out, it meant all kinds of extra reps for players like first-round draft pick Derek Barnett and newcomer Chris Long.

Put it this way: The Eagles still had plenty of bodies at every position to run practice the way they wanted.

Now, if any of the absent players continue to miss considerable time throughout this strictly voluntary portion of the offseason and then come back out of shape, that would be a problem.

But that hasn't happened. Yet. So no big cause for concern.

"Players miss for a lot of different reasons," defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said before Tuesday's practice. "Our job is to coach the guys that are here. We're excited about coaching the guys that are here, and quite honestly, it's my favorite time of year. It's all about improvement. It's all about individual improvement without the pressure of having a game come up."

To paraphrase another coach from another sport in another era, if absence is inevitable, relax and enjoy it.